Yearly Archive: 2017

A lot has happened in 2017. Earlier this year, Barack Obama was president of the United States. Here’s my top ten list of memorable events. Best TV series: The Crown. The celebrity I miss the most: David Letterman. Worst thing that did not happen: Nuclear war with North Korea. Best thing that did happen: Recently learned about 75 boxes of files helpful for my current book project. Best day: Boat trip under sunny skies skippered by Aeneas to Little Fogo Island, Newfoundland, amid Northern Gannett, Atlantic Puffin and Razorbills along with cod hauled up from the deep. Best Book: Hero of the Empire,...

The Globe and Mail must be desperate to find additional revenue for their newly designed newspaper. You know, the paper that’s so small that if it’s mailed, there’s no room for a postage stamp? Their new venture is offering the top floor of the Globe building on Toronto’s King Street East for corporate events, bar mitzvahs and gatherings of that newest group, Readers No More. While the ad say it’s the top floor, the photo shows the roof. I can just imagine the TTC drivers’ Christmas party up there this month trying to keep the barbecue going on a breezy evening after the sun has gone down...

I don’t like Donald Trump. No one I know does. He’s a groper, a blowhard, and a liar. But, you know what? He’s getting things done. They might not be what you or I would want but they are what he said he would do. He’s designated Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, taken two million acres of national monument and turned the land over to strip miners, altered the makeup of the Supreme Court, and may get a tax bill that pays off his oligarch donors. Meanwhile, Ottawa has become Never-Never Land. As one of those who voted for the Justin Trudeau Liberals,...

The much-ballyhooed redesign of the Globe and Mail arrived today and it is disconcerting. In a week when Torstar and Postmedia exchanged papers and killed their young, I wish the redesign had been more uplifting. First off, while top to bottom measures the same, there is one inch less width to the paper. Beyond shrinkage, the other obvious alteration is what has become the Globe’s definition of news. On the front page, there are three stories and one photo with a pointer inside. Of the four topics, two are news, the other two are soft stuff. With an average of three...

There is now a more thoughtful method in place to appoint Canadian Senators, one that doesn’t depend only on partisan activities. But apparently this even-handed selection process has not altered the culture of the upper chamber. Its members remain as self-serving and sanctimonious as ever. Imagine, striking special medals for themselves and a few of their friends. Why would they want to look like bespangled generals who have just carried out a coup in some emerging country? It’s not as if Senators don’t have enough perquisites already. Annual salaries are approaching $150,000 a year plus a generous pension. Leaders, whips and committee chairs make even more....

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer had been pushing for a Canadian peacekeeping force in Ukraine, but when the Prime Minister made his announcement yesterday, no particular destinations were cited, there was just a grab bag of offerings of troops and equipment. Maybe it’s just as well the location of any eventual contribution is being left to the United Nations. Otherwise it could all come down to vote-pandering. Scheer, of course, was trying to get on the good side of the 1.3 million Canadian voters of Ukrainian descent. But if ancestral echoes matter so much, what about the 5 million Canadians of Scottish descent?...

As someone who has been watching CBC television news since the days of Larry Henderson, Earl Cameron, and Stanley Burke, I was looking forward to the launch this week of the new National. Certainly it was long past time to retire Peter Mansbridge, but four nights of dipping in and out of the National with its quartet of hosts has left me unable to decide if the package works or not. With all the time they’ve had to plan, the show should have been more polished and professional. As far as I could tell, there was no discernible core to the news judgment. One...

Tales of inappropriate groping and worse that happened in the past are falling like leaves from the trees. Women are coming forward in droves, finally feeling free to tell about the time they were accosted by some famous name. The kind of behaviour that’s being reported is offensive and abusive, but it also demonstrates a basic difference between men and women. It all depends on who is making the moves. Every man has a few treasured moments that are stashed away in his memory about approaches by women. In my case, there are three such stories, none of which came to...